After a necessary hiatus last year to concentrate on budding and growing the newest two mini-pumpkins (see the gourd-geous little chaps pictured), we’re back for the 2017 season to drink along with you from summer to winter through the bountiful harvest of seasonal offerings. Pumpkin beer season is coming, f*ck yeah!

The Baby-Brit Pumpkin

The Baby-Maine Pumpkin

Over the past 5 years we’ve reviewed literally hundreds of pumpkin beers from across the country and beyond, in our 61 beers in 61 days format. But since we started this quest, the pumpkin beer scene has exploded like our waistlines after trick-or-treating. So this year, we’ll mostly be concentrating on new offerings, and some old favorites or favor-hates you won’t want to miss*. We’ll be putting up new reviews and telling you what brews to skip, and which to skip to the store for. Plus, we’d love to hear any suggestions you guys have on brews you’d like to see us try (good or bad…hey, the garbage fire ones are often super fun to review!). Remember – ciders are valid too!

To get a jump into the 2017 season and give you some ideas of great beers to keep an eye out for in the suddenly very orangey beer aisle at your local bottle shop, below are each of our Top 10 favorites of past seasons, listed in no particular order of preference but based on those we loved, found memorable, and that should likely be available this year. As usual, we kept our picks separate, so we don’t know what the other picked…enjoy the harmony/discord!

Nicola’s Top 10 for 2017

Schlafly Pumpkin – Shlafly Beer, St. Louis, MO.

Dark O’ the Moon Pumpkin Stout – Elysian Brewing Co., Seattle, WA

Whole Hog Pumpkin – Steven’s Point Brewery, Steven’s Point, WI

Great’ER Pumpkin – Heavy Seas, Halethorpe, MD

Slumkin Pumpkin – Somerville Brewing Co. (Slumbrew), Somerville, MA

Frog’s Hollow Double Pumpkin Ale – Hoppin’ Frog Brewery, Akron, OH

Master of Pumpkins – Tröegs Independent Brewing, Hershey, PA

Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout – Cape Ann Brewing Co., Gloucester, MA

Pumpkin Blend – Downeast Craft Cider, Charlestown, MA

Pumpkin Crop Lager – Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, Framingham, MA

Alex’s Top 10 for 2017

Fisherman’s Pumpkin Stout – Cape Ann Brewing Co., Gloucester, MA

Punkin’ Ale – Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE

Pumpkin Blend – Downeast Craft Cider, Charlestown, MA

Dark O’ the Moon Pumpkin Stout – Elysian Brewing, Seattle, WA

Pumpkin Ale – Schlafly Beer, St. Louis, MO

Slumkin Pumpkin – Somerville Brewing Co. (Slumbrew), Somerville, MA

Warlock – Southern Tier Brewing Co., Lakewood, NY

Whole Hog Pumpkin – Steven’s Point Brewery, Steven’s Point, MI

Imperial Pumpkin – Weyerbacher Brewing Co., Easton, PA

Pompoen Red Sour Ale – Wicked Weed Brewing, Asheville, NC

And a bonus, throwback special beer we both WISH was available this year:

He Said Pumpkin Baltic Porter – 21st Amendment Brewery (San Francisco, CA) and Elysian Brewing (Seattle, WA) collaboration, also packaged with He Said Pumpkin Tripel. This double-pack collaboration of two styles was simply PERFECT. We’ll be bugging them to bring it back in the future!

*More details on this year’s format will be updated in a mini-blog and on our website closer to the start of the season.

Allowed two additional months in the womb of rum barreling, this dark, clear mahogany pours forth far less vanilla on the nose than it’s sibling, but a much darker sweet cane rum and a surprising blade of cinnamon, as well. This other baby has toned down it’s more playful, boisterous vanilla in favor of a smoother body that allows hearty rich meaty pumpkins spread their sweetness over the sea of amber rum.

Is the other baby a safer bet than mothering the Adrian of the original?I’ll have to go with the devil I don’t know on this one 88/100

Rumpkin is an old friend. SURE, we’ve met under some sketchy circumstances. Late night, at a bar with live country, after drinking beer all day. It made me wake up in the middle of the night, cold-sweating, and with a nose bleed. FO REALZ. My best friends and I coined the term “Moment of Darkness” for when you decide you should open a bottle of this. It’s the opposite of a moment of clarity. Deciding “let’s open some Rumpkin” after a day of drinking is one of the worst ideas anyone can have. It’s deciding your night is going to turn into a glorious, shitshow. The type of shitshow that is absolutely unforgettable, but there’s no chance you’ll actually remember it. But boy, it’s a beautiful, strange, creature.

Which is why when Alex came over, we opened two bottles of it! One from the current release, and a vintage one from two years ago.

So, who are we kidding, this isn’t gonna be the most “technical” review of a pumpkin beer you’ve ever read. I’m “sipping” on two bottles of 18% beer. I’m not a superhero. Up until I tried Almanac’s Dark Pumpkin Sour this was not only my favorite pumpkin beer, but also the only pumpkin beer I bought and my favorite very boozy beer (suck a dick Utopia). It’s glorious, have I mentioned that? It’s also aged in rum barrels. I have no idea how they make this shit. For all I know, Adam Avery, America’s coolest dude, crushes pumpkins with his bare fists into rum barrels and after a couple years, this is what comes out. It’s not too hot for all the booze it packs. It’s not too pumpkin for a pumpkin beer. It’s the pumpkin cocktail you can only order your favorite bar, where you bartender knows you just enough to be okay with overserving your sorry ass, but is annoyed enough by your antics to let you destroy yourself.

Darkness cometh.

101/100

And now, for my take on Rumpkin:

Few memories of pumpkin ales past have left as lasting an impression as Rumpkin has on my mind of seasons past. I quiver in my boots knowing that I might meet Rumpkin again on a dark and, well this time lovely, night and that his ABV that trumps all other pumpkins will smack me across my unsuspecting cheek before I have a chance to brace myself. This year was no exception to my trepidation. I not only tried batch 3 from 2013, but batch 5 as well. Aging takes a huge toll on this ale’s appearance and aroma for the good, but this years pours far lighter than my recollection served me. This bright citrine yellow had a heavy weight of oak, rum and vanilla on the nose. Cutting thru the dense rum was a playful cinnamon and squashy pumpkin making this a trickster of a heavy hitter and far too easy to drink all of without the needed aid of friends.

Rum soaked but not to a palate wrecking point – playful pumpkin does hold it’s own in this medicinal wallop of an ale. Abandon hope, ye who enter Rumpkin alone. 92/100

If you’ve ever thrown a party, you realize the best guest, the one that brings the most to the party, might not be the one that shows up right on time. Fuck, sometimes that guy sucks. He’s awkward. You barely know him. And you are still getting set up and maybe you’re still wearing a robe. But I digress. The point here is that this beer might be late to the party. But that doesn’t make it less great. It’s a perfect early fall beer, this is the beer that should be showing up on shelves “too early for pumpkin beer.”

As soon as I poured it, this beer and I started warming up to each other. It has an extremely light body and about as dark as amber gets, it’s very inviting. It’s that guy who as soon as he gets to the party, starts cracking jokes and making everyone talk and have a good time. It smells more like a Kriek than anything. I’m not complaining about that. At all. And because it barely smells like pumpkin – and with no hint of all the pumpkin spice stuff – I expected it to hide its pumpkiness in the taste. But hey, good news: it did NOT. The faint smell of pumpkin and the fact it says pumpkin on the label are all the pumpkin you get. YAY! It’s mostly a playful tart up front that plays nicely with a sweeter note I’m only assuming comes from pumpkin. There’s a touch of alcohol heat in the back, but even that is playful since it gives a nice clear finish. I’m not a n00b, I realize sour beers are tough to make and expensive and yadda yadda yadda fuck you, but I wish I could just buy these shits in 6 packs and drink all of it as soon as the leaves start turning. If you’re basic and you want some sweet mess, well, a. you’ve got issues and b. this ain’t for you. This is just a great American sour. I wish it were a little more carbonated, but that’s just me trying to find something wrong with it. 99/100

Up now, my take:

Pumpkins sours, you make the rockin’ world go ’round. Pumping (absolutely NO pun intended) fresh energy into a sometimes tired category of pumpkin beers comes just enough funk to turn the party on it’s side and keep me going strong for a sprint to the finish of 61 consecutive pumpkin brews. Almanac isn’t messing around when they say Dark. Pouring a cloudy milk chocolate hue with slight ruby edges when held to the light, a pleasing tart aroma with delicate traces of pumpkin wafts from this California barrel aged sour. Upon sipping this beauty, it’s plummy depth from the red wine barrels that it allowed it’s wild yeast to get all funky fresh in smooths out over heirloom pumpkins hiding their one time only visible selves. Oaky, vanilla notes subtly mix with mild caramelized malts and dark fruit lusciousness in this wild ale leaving a rich jewel of a pumpkin.

This is the elegant vamp at the pumpkin party. She’s layered, she’s decadent, she’s tart, but she’s a lady. 98/100

At first and ethanol esthery pungent aroma, followed by pure-pumpkin, with a hint of brown sugar, and interestingly enough butterscotch. Taste – malt forward. Nice amber ale-base from the start of the palete. From mid palete to finish, sweet cinnamon followed pure pumpkin doesn’t overwhelm, and ends with a subtle hint of nutmeg. Mouthfeel – light to medium bodied. Effervescence is low but pleasant. Amount of pumpkin – just the right amount of pumpkin with being too overkill.

As far as pumpkin beers go, I think this is a hit! The pumpkin flavor and fall spices blend perfectly with this solid amber ale. I’m not one for the overly sweet, over-produced, pumpkin pie in a glass. I enjoy a beer WITH pumpkin flavor. This reminds of Wolaver’s Pumpkin Ale, one of my favorites. It’s a balanced golden-amber ale with the essence of pumpkin. I give the Ichabod a solid 90 out of 100.

Up now, my take on Ichabod:

Few stories capture palpable terror at an early age as “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, which has gripped an audience by their quaking hands as they held the Irving short story in their trembling, or as they attempted to clutch the remote while entranced by the Tim Burton feature film. Even with a healthy dose of skepticism, our visceral id wants to believe that a decapitated Hessian rides at night seeking vengeance and beheading his victims. This ale, aptly from New Holland Brewing, pays homage to that vital character at America’s Halloween. This amber ale shows a slightly cloudy body with no head and lacing, and smells of the sweet pumpkin one might expect the Hessian to throw. Accompanying the pumpkin is a spicy cinnamon with just a slight nutmeg edge. With a malt forward taste, brown sugar and caramel accompany copious amounts of sugar pumpkins, but have their sweetness hacked by spicing with a prominent heat-bearing cinnamon in it’s finish. It’s no surprise that this mild-mannered ale is named for Mr. Crane and not the Horseman himself. I almost expect the two to be sitting down for afternoon tea and biscuits, severed head and all with an ale this calm, instead of galloping across the countryside and halting at covered bridges.

I’m sure there is an opera character out there who could be called the Maple Mistress. Though she sounds more like Strawberry Shortcake’s slutty Friend. Like most operatic characters this beer is pretty epic with a 9.2% alcohol content and a strong spice on the nose. However, this gal is a sly one. I expected a much darker hue, but she pours a light chestnut. I also expected a saccharine taste given the ABV, but the cinnamon, nutmeg, and butternut still come out clear, and the sweetness isn’t overpowering. It starts surprisingly fizzy with plenty of carbonation and has a nice dry finish. Still sweet, this squash-based beer from Saucony Creek is full-bodied yet dangerously drinkable, best had on a chilly evening with your mistress or gypsy lover. 88/100

And now, Alex’s take on Maple Mistress Imperial Pumpkin Ale:

Maple Mistress summons the cutting remarks of Anne Bonny’s cutting remarks to her soon to be executed fellow pirate lover Capt. Jack Rachman after the British Navy overtook his ship, “Had you fought like a man, you need not have been hang’d like a dog” with a bold, brassy imperial pumpkin ale that will make a scallywag out of the drinkers of weak pumpkin ales. Pouring a dull amber with a head of fine froth, this ale releases an aroma of rich butternut squash and the promise of oncoming rum notes. This medium-bodied ale boards up into itself a loud flavor waiting to be unleashed with more butternut squash than pumpkin stacked flapjacks doused heavily in maple syrup. There is a slight burn from this almost 10% ale about halfway thru a sip of this ale, but it burns in a pleasant way as though giving you fire for sea legs. Unlike most other rum-influenced pumpkin ales, this mistress allow for her spiciness to complement instead of clock the vegetal heartiness of the butternut squash and pumpkin, adding balanced amounts of cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla to the savory blend. As though sailing off after a successful pillaging of the palate, this ale finishes in a rum-caked maple syrup sweetness that lingers long after the incident itself.

The manga-inspired, pancake-bearing wench on the label may play for lighter crowd appeal, but actually detracts in my mind from the ale itself and the vicissitude enducing power of terror that these piratical maids of all sorts actually possessed. As though it had been stored in a rum flask, this ale drops anchor into solid pumpkin territory while not losing any of it’s swashbuckling balls…errrrr, breasts. 90/100

Aroma – A kind of savory roastiness. Not really espresso, but more of a smoke. Not much spicing either.
Mouthfeel – Not as sweet as I was expecting. Bit of peppery tinge to it.
Taste – Full and roasty. Cinnamon/pepper spice. Not a whole lot of espresso or pumpkin spicing. Maybe a bit of dry, bitter coffee bean on the finish.
Overall – A good beer, but not a great pumpkin beer. (And far better than their previous Freaktoberfests) 78/100

And now, Alex’s take:

Freaktoberfest is a pumpkin ale that has taken on a variety of manifestions, like a child unable to land upon just one Halloween costume to go trick-or-treating while wearing. This year, with it’s mouthful of a title, it pours a copper hue and has a nose eerily close to what smells like spicy peppers, and not espresso as one might assume. The punch of flavor lives up to it’s surprise inducing carnival title and tastes of sweet pumpkin puree spiced with all-spice and mild cinnamon and nutmeg on a roasted oat body. In the finish, and more once this ale warms, what I’m judging to be the epresso beans start to smoothly creep thru, but without richness. It’s more like a shot of espresso pulled from McDonald’s coffee.

If this ale were a Legos kit, it would have pieces that belong to three different sets. Sometimes knights in space on a pirate ship are fun, just not in my beer. 71/100